Manufacture of wool-like artificial fibers



Nov; 30, 1937. w. CLAUS MANUFACTURE OEWOOL LIKE ARTIFICIAL FIBERS 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 18, 1955 lnvemor 6&4

@Qina 7 NOV. 30, 1937. w c us 2,100,588

MANUFACTURE OF WOOL LIKE ARTIFICIAL FIBERS Filed Ju1y l8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /nventor: 5% 5212; 54;; Q20 )M I, Y AZ'L'arneg- Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,100,583 .MANUFACTURE OF WOOL-LIKE ARTIFICIAL FIBERS Application July 18, 1935, Serial No, 32,113

In Germany January 30, 1935 It has already been propo d to produce woollike artificial spun fibe s by he action of liquid media under motion 3 011 the fiber material, either, in the precipitaion b'ath itself or by a 5 separate subsequent treatment. The efl'ect attained in this way is, however, only comparatively slight, since the extent of the curling action is naturally also dependent upon the extent of the formation of eddies, whereas the water or the aqueous solutions used have as a rule a comparatively great inertia, and thus prevent considerable res stance to the formation of eddies.

It has been found that a very good and marked curling efi'ect can be obtained if the artificial fibrous material is subjected, in the freshly coagulated and therefore am very plastic condition, to the action of a medium, not in liquid, but in gaseous form (as a rule, air) set into eddying movements. The gaseous medium, easily movable'and consequently easily set into strong eddying motion, has for eifect that the thread is drawn into the apparatus with at the same time the minimum amount of damage to the surface of the fiber, when a very marked curling efiect having an extraordinarily large number 01' spi- 'rals is produced, which curling is very durable, since the gaseous medium does not stretch the fibers after their withdrawal from the eddying zone, as the liquid medium tends to do, butv can even under certain circumstances, by the evaporation of a portion of the liquid attaching to the thread, produce a fixing of the curls already formed. i

It has already been proposed to impart a rotation to the solidifying jet of liquid coming from the nozzle by setting into eddying movement the liquid or gaseous medium coagulating it, that is (in the wet spinning process), the precipitation bath or (with the drying spinning process) the These processes have not been satisfactory in practice and have not been introduced into the art, since in this way the desired effect can be attained only incompletely if at all.

The apparatus for carrying out the process is of very simple construction. Embodiments by current of air coagulating the spinning solution.

(01, 188) v tion of the thread curling device with helically shaped inset guide, in longitudinal section;

Figure 5 shows diagrammatically the interposing of the thread curling device in a known process of production 5 Figure- 6 shows the thread curling device in combination with a thread cutting device;

Figure 7 shows the thread curling device in combination with a modified thread cutting device; 10

Figure 8 shows a modified construction of the cutting plate represented in Figure '1.

In Figures 1-3, a indicates a tube oi. glass, metal or rubber adapted for thecarrying through 'of the still plastic fiber, and which at its upper 15 end is suitably provided with an opened out part b, which serves to take the ejector-like inset c and has a lateral projection d for the supply of the gaseous medium. By a suitable arrangement of the projection d the supply of the gaseous 20 medium instead of being directed radially to the centre of the casing-as in Figures 1 and 4-can also take place tangentially-as in Figures 2 and 3, or in any other direction-whereby theeddy current arising obtains a more or-less strongly pronounced rotary direction. Such a twisting eifect can be attained or amplified in the eddy current by the fitting in of a helically shaped guide piece e (Figure 4) which is here fitted in the part of the tube a connecting on to the 30 widened out part b.

The thread curling device is preferably made so as to be easily taken apart by suitable screw thread connection of the most important parts. V Figure 5 shows the interposition, easily understood, of the device a according to the invention in one of the usual processes for the production of artificial threads. The thread issuing from the spinning nozzle g is delivered over the guide roller h to the thread curling device a, which it 40.

leaves as the curled thread 'i, either to be led in known manner after treatment in a hardening bath p,-to a winding device, or to be further treated in any desired manner.

A special advantage of this curling device is 45 that in consequence of its peculiar and extremely simple construction it is very well adapted for the direct production of short stapled artificial fibrous material (staple fibers), since it can be combined with a suitable cutting device into a homogeneous aggregate, as is shown in the embodiments by way of example in Figures 6 and 7.

In Figures 6 and '7, the tubes 0 arranged in a circle or in a row and serving for the guidance of the curled fibrous material, are interrupted with the formation of a narrow gap k (for the sake of clearness, shown on the drawings with the width somewhat exaggerated); a cutting too1in Figure 6 a rotating knife I, in Figure 7 a reciprocating set of knives or the like (m1,mz,ma,m4. then cuts up into short pieces or staples the threads carried, under the influence of the gaseous medium blown through, into the lower tube projection, the length of which staples is determined in known manner by the ratio of the speed of the thread supply to the number of cuts per unit of time. The thread so out can also be carried directly into a hardening bath.

Figure 8 finally shows in elevation a cutting tool similar to that shown in Figure 7, in which instead of the knives combined into a set, only a single cutting plate n provided with a series of openings 0 is used which, on the reciprocal movement thereof eflfects the cutting of the threads by the knife-sharp edges of the openings 0.

1. Apparatus for imparting a curled form to artificial threads during their manufacture, comprising a tube adapted for the carrying through of a freshly coagulated and still plastic artificial thread, provided with an ejector-like opening at one end, a lateral inlet for the introduction of a current of gaseous medium and an internal helically-shaped guide piece adapted to impart a rotary motion to the gaseous current.

2. Apparatus for the production of curled artificial staple fibers from freshly coagulated artificial threads, comprising a tube provided with a substantially conical opening at one end for receiving the still plastic thread, means for conveying said thread therethrough and a moving cutting tool at the other and adapted to cut the thread into definite staple lengths as it passes through the tube, said tube being provided with a lateral inlet for introducing a gaseous medium and an internal helical guide adapted to cause the gaseous medium to rotate around the thread as it passes through the tube."

3. In a process for the production of wool-like artificial fibers, the steps-which comprise prioperated under normal undisturbed conditions, and while the filament is in the freshly coagulated but still plastic condition, removing it from the bath and subjecting it to the action of an eddying gaseous medium.

threads in a. bath, removing them from the bath.

and subjecting the threads whilst in the freshly coagulated but still plastic condition to the action imparts to the threads 9, curled form.

5. In a process for the production of wool-like artificial threads, the steps which comprise coagulating the threads in a bath, removing them from the bath and curling or crinkling the artificial threads whilst in the freshly coagulated but still plastic condition by subjecting them to the action of an eddy g gaseous current, which at the same time tends to carry the threads in the direction of their lengths.

6. In a process for the production of wool-like artificial threads, the steps which comprise coagulating the threads in a bath, removing them from the bath and subjecting the threads whilst in the freshly coagulated but still plastic condition to the action of an eddying gaseous medium, the flow of which imparts to the threads a curled form, and cutting the threads into staple lengths while the threads are still under the action of the eddying gaseous medium.

7. In a process for the production of wool-like artificial threads, the steps which comprise coagulating the threads in a bath, removing'them from the bath and subjecting the threads whilst in the freshly coagulated but still plastic condition to the action of an eddying gaseous medium which is capable of imparting to the threads a curled, crinkled form, and subjecting the curled threads to the action of a hardening bath.

8. In a process for the production of wool-like artificial staple fibers, the steps which comprise coagulating the threads in a bath, removing them from the bath and conducting the continuous freshly coagulated but still plastic artificial threads through a zone in which they are subjected to the action of a gaseous current adapted to ,impart tothe threads a curled form and to draw the threads through said zone, cutting up the threads into definite staple lengths while they are still under the action of the gaseous current, and subjecting the lengths of threads to .the action of a hardening bath.

WALTER CLAUSV.

-of an eddying gaseous medium, the flow of which 

